Mario Williams: Given the opportunity, I’ll get back to what I was

Defensive end Mario Williams wasn’t a fan of the defensive scheme the Bills ran during the 2015 season and he didn’t have much of a problem letting people know about it.

Williams, whose production dropped to five sacks after he had 38 in his first three years with the Bills, complained about the way he and others on the defense were being used on multiple occasions during the season. The year wasn’t over before reports surfaced that the Bills would release Williams to save nearly $13 million in cap space, something that Williams believes will be the first step toward an on-field resurgence.

“It’s kind of crazy when you are asked to do something that is totally different, but yet as a whole it didn’t work out defensively,” Williams said, via Josina Anderson of ESPN.com. “But yet I’m the one whose production has fallen off? Like, that is why I’m saying, I’m prepared for anything because I know I’m going to prove a point and that is not even a question in my mind. At the end of the day, if I’m not there, I’ll show you that I’m better than what I’ve been before. Like, that’s just a chip on my shoulder regardless of whether I am there or not, because given the opportunity I’ll get back to what I was.”

Williams repeated his dissatisfaction with not being allowed to “attack and get after it” in the Bills scheme, so it’s clear what he’ll be looking for in a next stop. The Bills are free to part ways with him at any time and Williams would likely prefer sooner rather than later so that he can talk to teams before free agency floods the field with other options.

Truly one of the strangest things about team sports. The only goal is to win, but yet athlete production is measured by individual stats. Which are controlled by the coaches schemes, game plans, weather, and the opponents you are playing (ie.,if you are getting thumped by the Panthers, you probably aren’t running the ball much in the 2nd half).

Yet after the season is over, stats are what are focused on in the media. I can see where metrics and “moneyball” analytics become more important, because this type of measuring is totally outdated and can be very misleading.

Mario, you’re absolutely correct, and I wish you the best. You were a true beast for your first 3 years, and in my opinion, worth every penny of your huge contract. Hopefully Rex can get the personnel needed to make his defense and his schemes effective. It shouldn’t be that hard, given the talent, but without Mario, there’s less talent. Go Bills.

All anyone needs to do is look at his game tape for the second half of last season: he flat out quit trying! Virtually every play he took two steps, did a little hand fighting or leaned into the offensive lineman’s body and then danced. An incredibly selfish and petulant player! The Bills will certainly release him to gain badly needed cap space. Any other team needs to ask itself if adding such a diva is worth the risk of him tanking when the scheme or the season don’t play out to his personal preferences. The Bills were 8-8 with him…and they can certainly be at least 8-8 without him! Releasing him is addition by subtraction!

$10 says he plays for the Pats next season. In first game against Buffalo he single handedly destroys the Bills then takes a dump on the field and rubs Rex,s nose in it. Next year will be Rex’s 2nd and last year in Buffalo.

Please. What’s the market value for a disgruntled, diva, DE that only wants to rush the QB and will phone it in if he doesn’t get his way? Certainly not the 15-20 million dollars a year he’ll be looking for. Sure, he’d be a great add to a lot of teams who need a pass rusher. Question is, do they want to roll the dice and pay 10-15% of their cap space on this guy?

kfoyo808 says:Feb 10, 2016 10:11 AM

wonder if the Eagles would kick the tires on Mario. Obviously had success and knows Jim Schwartz. If they can get a lower guarantee deal with incentives galore, he could make that front 7 positively beastly.

I didn’t like the scheme change at all but at the same time great players should fit in any scheme. The fact that Mario’s production fell off a cliff because the scheme changed just shows that he simply is not a great player anymore. He’s a good defensive end and his production will likely be a bit better next year in a 4-3 for somebody, but he’s not worth anything close to $19 million a year, he’s not worth half that at this point.

For one, Williams is right that the defense that Ryan brought in was/is garbage. It’s a passive, overly-complicated mess, and Williams wasn’t the only player who complained about it, and he wasn’t the only talented player whose stats dropped dramatically because of the garbage defensive scheme. Ryan took a top five, aggressive QB destroying defense and turned it into a passive defense that was repeatedly destroyed by even average QBs. They went from the best pass rushing defense to the worst in one season with the same exact players. This upcoming season will probably be Ryans last because the game has clearly passed him by.

Having said that, a lot of the problem is on Williams too. There is no doubt he’s an incredibly talented player, both physically and in terms of skillset. But mentally, he’s flat out pathetic. Even when everything is going his way, he only plays at about 60%, and cant’ be bothered to play the run most of the time. Granted, that 60% will probably get you 10 sacks, but if he played with heart, this guy would be one of the best defensive players in the league. But if things aren’t going his way, he will flat out quit on you and will literally do nothing but stand around on the field. If I had a really good team and strong head coach, I mike take a one year shot on him (because he might actually play hard this year to prove he’s still a good player) but because of what I mentioned above, it’s risky and will probably be very expensive.

“Given the opportunity, I’ll get back to what I was” Can anybody tell me what he was besides a bust? this guy quit on every nfl coach he has had.

spoiledsport99 says:Feb 10, 2016 3:18 PM

bennydabeata….. Exactly how did Rex ruin the Bills? They were an average team before his arrival and are average now. We were a whole 9-7 the year before his arrival, with two of the wins complete luck (vs Lions,Vikings). The great defense that year you refer to also completely choked vs the Dolphins and Raiders. It’s not like Rex inherited the 85 bears. Over react much.

The shutout over an overrated (but who knew) Indy Colts game for the season opener made things worse. Rex’s first game – shut out. Why would he think his D game plan was bad and why would the players think it would be as bad with that same shutout….they wouldn’t. As the season progressed, it was apparent, that Bills D was now suspect, and it couldn’t be the players – exact same roster. I feel bad because it was huge news that Mario wanted to sign here, WGR had 24 hour coverage, it was tons of fun, he played upto his contract the first 3 years, sure did…..too bad we are now going to lose him to an overrated Rex who I wanted to succeed, but now we have a mess again.

spoiled – ryan inherited a top notch defense that led the league in sacks and turned it into a below average defense that was worst in the league in sacks. That is a pretty dramatic fail considering the fact he considers himself a defensive mastermind.

And it would have been worse if not for the fact that the offense played very good ball control offense (1st in the league in rushing) and taylor took ridiculously good care of the ball and the offense as a whole did a great job of not having turnovers.

And on top of that, ryans coaching flat out cost the bills games – see the KC disaster where he couldn’t handle simple review calls.

Ryan was an absolute disaster as coach of the Bills. And yeah, the 8-8 record was similar to the 9-7 record marone put up, but then marone isn’t a very good head coach either so that’s not saying much.

jagmankane says:Feb 11, 2016 4:06 PM

effthelions016 says:
Feb 10, 2016 1:26 PM
“Given the opportunity, I’ll get back to what I was” Can anybody tell me what he was besides a bust? this guy quit on every nfl coach he has had.

HUH?!

He’s had two teams. Houston and Buffalo. And until he was 30, dude was a beast and just wanted to get paid so he went and got paid. Was all-star until some jack wagon comes in and tries to turn a 4-3- DE into a 3-4 OLB

yoyophil says:Feb 14, 2016 4:47 PM

Am I missing something or isn’t it better to trade him then just cut him loose?